USPS

On occassion there have been postings about the efficiency of USPS... maybe we just don't press/click the right button for English :evil: ...I'm not sure!!?

Arizona to Nebraska
My brother mailed Christmas package on Nov 23, 05 and we got
in February of 2006.

Omaha to Omaha:
I mailed an invitation on Febr 1st -box drop- to an address about 10 miles from our home. The invite -to my sister- did not show up for 2-weeks.

Three Marlin lever actions is 356.... Omaha to Delaware, Ok, Ill...
A few weeks ago I shipped via USPS, Priority Mail, Delivery Confirmation, Insured: 3 packages: One to Delaware; One to Oklahoma, One to Chicago; Delaware got the package w/in 3-days; the other two nearly 2-weeks!!!!!!!.

Today another USPS gem : got a letter dated April 12th, mailed April 12th. from Denver Colorado to Omaha, Nebraska. We got the letter yesterday: May 1st.

It just keep's getting better and better!!

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scooterthegreat

May 2, 2006, 08:55 AM

Did it have to cross a river? I live in Wisconsin and most of my family lives in Minnesota. Takes an extra day or two to get things. I think the ponies are afraid to get their hooves wet.

waterhouse

May 2, 2006, 09:22 AM

To get this topic gun related, I mailed a couple hundred handguns last year through USPS. I think all but one arrived in a timely manner, and the one arrived after 10 days. For $8.10 pre-insurance, they are still the best bargain for handgun shipping if you have an FFL.

dakotasin

May 2, 2006, 09:45 AM

it is frustrating when a letter/pkg takes longer to arrive than it would take to walk it there yourself...

however, most every gun i buy or sell over the internet is shipped usps, and i have yet to have a problem w/ them getting stuff to/from in a timely fashion. also, the packages show a reasonable amount of wear on them.

i have also had guns arrive by ups and fedex... this year i had a couple ar-15 uppers arrive, both via ups, and both packages looked like they made a detour thru baghdad before making it here.

Several decades ago, USPS required FFLs to write "FIREARM" on the package in 1" high red letters. An FFL holder I talked to (outside of Chicago) said that MOST things he shipped this way simply disappeared.

So he and a buddy (also with an FFL) took to shipping pistol-sized packages with the FIREARM label to one another . . . filled with scrap (or maybe a POS junker gun - same thing) and heavily insured. :evil:

A very high percentage of the packages never made it to their destination.

Supposedly, USPS paid off the insurance every time without comment . . . I suppose challenging the settlements would have brought to light that the Chicago branch of the post office was filled with thieves . . . :rolleyes:

heypete

May 2, 2006, 09:48 PM

Several decades ago, USPS required FFLs to write "FIREARM" on the package in 1" high red letters. An FFL holder I talked to (outside of Chicago) said that MOST things he shipped this way simply disappeared.

While the fact that things like that disappeared, I believe it's now illegal for any carrier (USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc.) to mark in any way that a package contains a firearm.

Of course, when one's mailing a large black case with $600 worth of insurance, delivery confirmation, etc. it's pretty obvious, I guess. Oh well. The rifle got to its destination without any trouble.

I'm a big fan of the USPS...the fact that I can print postage online, or use the automated machine at the post office (while everyone else waits in line for some reason) makes me even happier.

Ala Dan

May 2, 2006, 09:53 PM

with Pony Express~!:D

Offwhite

May 3, 2006, 10:20 AM

I was expecting a letter from the Durham Police Dept. to be sent to me here in High Point. After about a month the LEO doing my background investigation just wrote out a new statement & sent it. I recieved the 2nd letter about 4 or so days later - which I still think is a long time for 66 miles - and about a week after that I revieved the orginal letter all beat-to-hell.

I worked for the USPS (through a contractor) driving tractor-trailer rigs for one season.
My advice to anyone shipping anything through them: Pack carefully, and be SURE to NEVER hint at what's in the package.
Watching a box fly through the air to a tough landing on the trailer's oak floor, I couldn't help but notice the "Dell" markings on the box.
Some of the guys were bragging about keeping stuff that 'fell' out of packages. They must have thought I was out of earshot...
After working with them, I won't ship anything important via USPS.

Car Knocker

May 3, 2006, 06:58 PM

After working with them, I won't ship anything important via USPS.

That doesn't leave much of a choice, bro. You have to pay through the nose to ship handguns Fedex and UPS because their employees were stealing them. The packages don't arrive in noticeably better condition from them, either!

ATAShooter

May 3, 2006, 09:49 PM

Seeing that the wife works for USPS here, in the main prossessing area, let me tell you why all this crap happens. The USPS is trying to go to full automation. Where some folks were needed to pull packages or letters due to they knew it was going to jam up a flat sorter or OCR ( a big zip code reader and sorter ), the actual people are being replaced by machines. It used to be you had an actual person keying in the zip codes, now it has a reader camera that does it. The machines just try to shove it ALL thru, therefore a ripped letter, or one falls thru the joint in the machine and gets found a month or 2 later by a mechanic. Or, an envelope is too wide for the feeder, so it mashes it. It's the automation which causes every piece of late mail just about. They do this because they want to keep the numbers up, and yes it raises the numbers, but quality is suffering hard. The even worse news is that they are constantly bringing in more automated stuff and it's going to get worse. Old full time personell would take the time to make sure that letters and stuff got out of the crack of the machines and got on it's way. The labor schedulers and personnell are replacing them with part time flexibles and casuals, which don't give a hoot about if your mail gets there, they just want the pay. I listen to her fuss every nite, that's how I can relay all this crap to you.

doggscube

May 4, 2006, 07:33 AM

A couple of months ago I needed to ship two magazines. Of course they were empty. For some reason that day the clerks were asking about the contents of packages. I knew the law, and naively said, "pistol magazines." The clerk didn't go white as a sheet or anything, but I lost a 15-minute debate with her and her co-worker about whether a magazine is classified as a firearm by the BATFE, US DOT, USPS. They just kept pointing at the word "firearm" in their manual.

One of the more amusing things they said was that if they were rifle magazines, there would be no problem. :confused:

The situation pissed me off because I wanted insurance (paid by the buyer) and delivery confirmation, since they were rare and valuable magazines (they paid for my reloading setup :D ). I had to use the automated machine and couldn't get the delivery confirmation. That was the only hitch in the transaction, the buyer got them and we were both happy.

Now I know that if I'm sending parts and they ask, just to say "machine parts."

-Jeff

ATAShooter

May 4, 2006, 10:05 AM

I will tell you this, There ARE key words that the USPS uses to identify what they call "Target Mail". Such words as pistol, handgun, poison, ammo, amunition, shotgun, ect. Now, why the word Rifle didn't set it off, I don't know, due to it is on the list. Such mail is either not accepted, or if it makes it past the clerk, then is seen ( such as one of those words printed on the box ) then it goes into a special bin for Target Mail and will take forever to go thru the system. Postal people are really uptight with the postal service due to what is happening. Their Union has turned to crap, don't fight for their employees, plus the Postal service is NOT employee friendly, they could care less if you die right now, just hope your cold dead corpse remembers the way in at your designated tour time. Alot of folks would like to have the job, due to the pay, but inturn you trade your life for it, cause they tell you what and when you will do it. I will say this, they DO look at the filed complaints, so if you have one, call 1-800-ASK-USPS. If you don't file one, and you have been done wrong, then they don't know and think everything is okydokie. Filing a complaint will screw up the numbers, and that will set off flags, because they don't like number problems. Anyway this is the inside scoop and how to fix it. Some of the older Career employees have even noticed problems with target mail notification and have written letters to USPS , here's one from my wife's USPS newsletter,....

Gerald Howell, Jacksonville, FL: USPS must continually educate employees and customers about target mail procedures. Since this is an important issue, why don't we place an alert notice on our stamp vending machines? We also should put an alert on our Click-N-Ship website and our Priority Mail packaging. It's better to notify customers before they mail something — rather than after.

secamp32

May 4, 2006, 01:10 PM

from a town 10 miles away, in the same county. It took 14 business days to arrive.

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